The Maran Code
by Caffre
Summary: The 8th Doctor runs into an old friend as well as an even older enemy. WARNING: Will contain ADULT themes.
1. Default Chapter

This story is set not very long after the 8th Doctor movie starring Paul McGann. The theme is a very dark one, involving allegations of child abuse (among other things). However, there will be no actual descriptions and the allegations will of course be false. (I like to make sure my warnings are pretty well covered.) The 'bad guy' in this was the only character that actually made me hide behind the sofa as a child watching the series. I kid you not.   
  
The story for this has been rattling about in my head for years, so I thought I'd make a start on it, to commemorate in my own little way 40 years of the Doctor entertaining us.  
  
Not beta'd as of yet. Once it's finished I'll take it down and tidy it up. I'm hoping to get some feed back along the way in the hopes of making this a better story.   
  
The Maran Code  
  
There was a bite in the still night air, but it wasn't unpleasant. In fact, it went rather well with the time of year. There was only five days left until Christmas day, and while all the children in the village were starting to believe the big day would never come, all the parents where wishing that it was well and truly over with.  
  
One such parent was tucking their ten-year-old child up into bed.  
  
"Oh, come on Nessa, tomorrow is your last day of school," Tegan tried not to say it with a sigh but she couldn't help it. As much as she loved her daughter, the latest chapter of her book was proving to be a nightmare, and the thought of spending it trying to calm her unruly daughter in her pre-Christmas excitement phase, was just too much for her at the moment. Especially with the way her publisher was on her back at the moment.  
  
"I'm just not tired mum." Vanessa looked at her mother, trying not to worry her. "I'm sorry."  
  
Tegan looked at her daughter and couldn't help the smile. "How about I tell you a story then, hmm? What'd you say?"  
  
Nessa returned the smile with enthusiasm. "Can you tell me one about the Doctor again?"  
  
Tegan ruffled her daughter's hair before toeing off her shoes and pulling back the blankets, climbing in next to her daughter before switching out the light. Above their heads, a hundred or more stars stuck to the ceiling glowed with a soft, gentle light.  
  
"Ok, but as it's bedtime, it's not going to be a scary one, ok?"  
  
Vanessa nodded enthusiastically, snuggled into her pillow a bit more comfortably and prepared herself to be entertained by one of her mother's wonderful tales.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
After San Francisco, and after such a rotten regeneration, the Doctor had felt his home away from home calling to him.   
  
To be honest, he still didn't feel 'quite right' as it where. Like the body he was in now didn't quite fit.  
  
He stared at himself in a rather ornate (and somewhat tacky, but you couldn't tell Louie anything, especially when it came to subtlety and taste) full-length mirror.  
  
As regenerations went, it wasn't that bad. Although his body did seem to prefer a younger look. Galifrayens normally preferred to age gracefully. Yet he always did seem to flout convention.  
  
He turned, looking at himself side on. He'd lost a little weight. And gained a little height. He shook his head, watching his curls bounce softly. "You need a trim."  
  
All in all, the body wasn't as bad as it could have been. Especially considering how he'd come about it.   
  
Which was probably why he felt a little out of sorts in it. It looked and felt fine, but it had come about due to his rather closer than usual call with death.  
  
He shrugged it off, noticing that the TARDIS had finally come to a halt.  
  
He wondered over to the console, casting his eyes back at his image in the mirror, before bumping into the hard frame of the console. "Ouch." He cast his eyes at the TARDIS at large. "Did you move the console when I wasn't looking?"  
  
The subtle change in the hum the ship made wouldn't have been heard by anyone else. Not even another Galifreyan.  
  
"Hmm, duly noted. I seem to be a little more vain this time round. I'll have to watch out for that." He looked down at readout, flicking a switch to confirm his readings. "England. Perfect. Just what the Doctor ordered."  
  
On his way out the door, the Doctor grabbed some local currency. This was going to be a holiday, and as such, he was going to say in a hotel and get his haircut. And more importantly, he was going to relax and have no adventures what so ever.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
It was cold as he walked through the quaint little village of Royston. A dull grey sky couldn't seem to hold back just how lovely this place actually was.   
  
Catching sight of the village square, the Doctor made his way over, intent on inspecting the war memorial when the sound of a bell rang out.  
  
Curious, he stood beside the monument of the Unknown Soldier, watching as the small school across the way suddenly was buzzing with life.  
  
Children streamed from its doors. A few of the houses around the square now had parents standing on doorsteps, watching their children make their way home.  
  
The Doctor smiled, watching the children screaming and yelling, playing and making plans to meet up later.  
  
A little girl, no more than ten waved goodbye to her friends at the school gate and was walking towards him.  
  
She was a pretty little thing. Long red hair hanging down to her waist, freckles dotted across her nose and a black smudge which the Doctor guessed to be paint, was streaked across her forehead.  
  
She spotted him too, and with a curiosity she had inherited from her mother, she made her way straight over to him.  
  
"Hello." said the Doctor, smiling her.  
  
"You're not supposed to talk to me. You're a stranger."  
  
The Doctor nodded. "Very wise advice. I won't talk to you any more." He pointed to the other side of the war memorial. "I'll just go stand over there then."  
  
He walked until he was on the other side, and was reading the inscriptions when she peeked round the corner at him.  
  
"I thought you weren't allowed to talk to strangers?" He said, trying to keep the amusment out of his voice.  
  
The little girl blushed, but looked defiant. "I'm not silly you know. I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm waiting here for my mum and I can wait on this side if I want to."  
  
The Doctor nodded again. "You can indeed."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
Tegan was running late, which wasn't too bad considering she only lived a five-minute walk from the school.  
  
Of course, Vanessa had always said she could walk home by herself, but Tegan thought she was a little too young for that. So a compromise had been made. She could cross the very small, hardly ever used road ~if~ she was careful to wait in front of the school for her mother to arrive there.  
  
As Tegan passed through a wave of children she turned the corner, scanning the Square across from the school to see her daughter…  
  
Who was talking to some strange man dressed like some kind of Victorian lay-about.  
  
She stormed angrily across the road; preparing to give both her daughter and the man in question a piece of her mind.  
  
"Vanessa! What do you think you're doing!"  
  
She grabbed her daughter's hand, the sounds of an embarrassed "Mum!" coming from Vanessa.  
  
Then she turned her face to the man in question, intent on seeing that he never talked to another child again.  
  
Only to find him standing there, a rather huge grin on his face.   
  
For a second she was too stunned at the cheek of him to say anything, and then she gave him another, more appraising look.  
  
Weird clothes, goofy grin and kind eyes that she could never forget.  
  
"Oh my God…"  
  
"Hello Tegan." Without saying another word, the Doctor enveloped his past companion in a hug.  
  
Still slightly stunned, her whole body shaking, Tegan wrapped her free arm around the other man's body, holding on to him tight. Finally she pulled away, and despite everything, despite the circumstances in which she'd seen him last, she couldn't help returning his grin with one of her own. "Hello Doctor."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
tbc 


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next bit. Thanks to Samantha2074 and to drox for my first bit of fb on it. You inspired me to write the next part a little ahead of schedule. Chapter 3 will be a good bit longer than 1 and 2.  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
It had known it was alive from the pain it had felt, for nothing that was dead could feel such agony, the searing pain of being ripped in two. Divided and weakened, it had been prepared to wait for centuries, passing down through time and memory until it could escape these earthly confines.  
  
No longer.  
  
If it had been anyone or anything else, it would have stayed hidden, kept itself in the darkest recess. It would have been content to lie in wait for a better chance.  
  
But chance had presented itself much sooner than anticipated.  
  
Working on instinct alone, it uncoiled itself, allowing itself to emerge from the depths, to ~become~ once again.  
  
It was only small, only a fraction of what it had once been. But it only needed a fraction of itself to begin.   
  
Soon it would grow and soon, it would have it's revenge on the Doctor.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"I'd forgotten you made such a lovely cup of tea." He lent over slightly, so he could see into the kitchen, where Tegan was making herself a cup of coffee. "You wouldn't happen to have any biccies in there, would you?"  
  
"Hold up a sec."  
  
Tegan took another steady breath. It seemed like she'd been taking more than her fair share of them since she'd run into the Doctor.  
  
She picked up a spoon, stirring some sugar into her mug, listening to the voices coming from her living room.  
  
There was no doubt about it. This man was undoubtedly the Doctor. Even if he hadn't confirmed it for her, she would have known deep down that he could have been no one else.  
  
And she didn't know if seeing him again was a good or a bad thing.  
  
Of course, she had thought about him over the years (how many has it been for him, she wondered to herself). Sometimes she had wondered if he was even still alive, having shared some of his adventures with him, she knew the kind of dangers he faced on a daily basis.  
  
That day in London… So many people had died. She had once thought that even the death of one person would have been one too many for her. Yet she'd allowed herself to become 'desensitised' somehow. Death had become part of her life and it had hardly phased her in the slightest.  
  
She'd realised it that day down at London Docks. Life with the Doctor no longer seemed like an adventure. Exploring the Universe, seeing more of it than she had a right to… it had stopped being fun.  
  
Sure, it always seemed to be a life or death situation, but it had at least felt worth while; it had all felt like she was making a difference.   
  
Then one day it just didn't feel that way any more.  
  
She realised she was still stirring her mug, having zoned out on what she was thinking.  
  
Opening a cupboard, she picked up a packet of chocolate digestives, then went back into the living room, and couldn't help but smile at the scene before her.  
  
The Doctor was seated in front of the fire, both hands out, his fingers wrapped up in a complicated design of string, with Vanessa's hand hovering over a gap in it, laughing as she quickly placed her hand in only to get it caught in a web of string.  
  
"Alright kids, playtimes over." She placed the packet down by the Doctor's feet. "Your biscuits, Doctor."  
  
He smiled up at her, and she couldn't help but remember ~her~ Doctor and suddenly she just wanted to hug him. Her Doctor was gone. This man in front of her held that man now within himself somewhere and no matter how badly it had ended, it hadn't all been bad.  
  
She sat down in a rather oversized armchair, catching Nessa keeping a close eye on their visitor.  
  
"So then Doctor. How are you?"  
  
He'd just dipped his biscuit into his tea, and the question distracted him from it. "Oh, can't really complain too much." The sound of a small splash grabbed everyone's attention, Nessa giggling as his digestive broke, the biscuit sinking to the bottom of his mug. Tegan couldn't help but grin either. Her Doctor would somehow have tried to have dunked his biscuit for just the correct amount of time so that it didn't do just that. He would have tried, but more than likely he wouldn't have succeeded. She didn't think this Doctor had given it a moments thought.  
  
"How many regenerations has it been since I saw you last?"  
  
"This is my eighth, believe it or not. The third since I-" For a fleeting moment, Tegan saw far too much pain behind those eyes of his. More than she had ever seen from him before. The pain in his eyes seemed solely reserved for her and it suddenly made her uncomfortable. "Since that day we parted in London. Tegan…"  
  
He set his mug on the floor, reaching out his hands and taking hold of hers. "I'm so sorry about what happened."  
  
Panic gripped her. What was he sorry for? Did he know? How could he know about that!?! She returned her attention to him.  
  
"I've always regretted that we didn't part on better terms. I-"  
  
She squeezed his hand, relief flooding through her. He didn't know then. Good. Some things where just too painful to share. Especially with a man who she could only ever remember having trouble dealing with real ~human~ emotions.  
  
"It's alright Doctor." She smiled at him to reassure him. "Really. My life is good; I have a beautiful daughter and a life that I would never have dreamed of for myself."  
  
She felt a little surprise that he was still holding her hands. After all, her Doctor hadn't exactly been the touchy-feely type at all. And again she realised that she was dealing with a different aspect of the same man. She couldn't really judge him on what she knew and she suddenly felt guilty that she had judged him incapable of dealing with her pain. Still, she didn't really want to think about that now. She forced herself to remain cheerful.  
  
"Stay. It's nearly Christmas. We'd love to have you over for the holidays."  
  
His eyes lit up, a huge grin on his face. "You wouldn't mind me intruding?"  
  
Tegan shook her head. "Don't be silly Doctor. You're family to me. And I'd love it if you could get to know Vanessa here a bit better."  
  
Vanessa had sat quietly throughout the entire conversation, but as her mother and the Doctor turned to look at her, they both saw the rather large smile on her face.   
  
"Well then, I guess that's settled." said the Doctor.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The Doctor had seen the pain in Tegan's eyes. There but for the briefest of moments. But now was not the time. It may never be time for her to share whatever it was he had seen there, he thought to himself.  
  
Meanwhile, he was being led around the house by Vanessa, who was currently showing him his room for his visit.  
  
"Sometimes Suzie likes to sleep in this room, but you don't mind cats, do you?"  
  
"No. I don't mind cats at all. In fact, me and cats get along rather well."  
  
He let go of her hand to stand and look out of the bedroom window. It was a rather pleasant view. He was upstairs in the back room, from which he could see the war memorial. Or rather the very top of it.  
  
"What's your home like then?"  
  
The Doctor turned, having heard a very curious tone to the girls voice. "What exactly has your mother told you about me?"  
  
Vanessa hopped up onto the bed, sitting there looking every inch like her mother. "Just some stories. That's what my mum does. She writes stories."  
  
"You mean she writes books? About what?"  
  
"Oh," said Vanessa, "All sorts of things." She shrugged. "I'm not allowed to read them yet. She thinks I'm too young."  
  
The Doctor sat down on the bed with her. "Bet you've had a bit of a peek though, am I right?"  
  
The grin on the girls face answered his question. "There's aliens in them, I know that much."  
  
"Really? Well, I must have a read of them, see if I recognise anyone I know."  
  
"What about your home then? Is it really a spaceship?"  
  
The Doctor nodded, unable to help catching a little of the enthusiasm he could sense from the child. "Well, it's a little bit more than that, but if you can keep it a secret, and if you mum says it's ok, I can take you over to see it if you like. I wouldn't mind getting one or two things if I'm going to be staying here over Christmas."  
  
"Really? You mean it?"  
  
Opps, thought the Doctor. He should really have mentioned something about this to Tegan first.  
  
"Only if your mum says it's alright."  
  
"Only if her mum says what's alright?"  
  
Both Vanessa and the Doctor turned to find Tegan at the doorway, and she couldn't help but notice the same mischievous 'caught in the act' grin that they were both trying to hide.  
  
"I was just going to pop over to the TARDIS and pick up a couple of things, and I was wondering…"  
  
At the moment, Tegan didn't want to go anywhere near the TARDIS. Seeing her old home as well as running into the Doctor was too much for one day.  
  
"You're not on the run from any monsters or anything, are you?" she asked.  
  
"No. No monsters today. I'm on holiday, remember?"  
  
She looked at her daughter. This was more than any other child her age would ever get to experience. And besides, what harm could come of it?  
  
As soon as she thought that, she moaned inwardly. Many an adventure had started out over less.  
  
But she trusted the Doctor. She knew that he'd rather die than let anything happen to her child. Sighing, putting on her long suffering look, she nodded her agreement. "Alright. Off you go. By the time you get back, I'll have dinner ready."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
This was better than it had ever expected. It had grown stronger than it could possibly have imagined in so short a space. All it had to do was reach out and it would be free. Free to do as it pleased. Free to plot the Doctor's destruction.  
  
But timing was everything.  
  
Soon. Very soon.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
It had been a long day, surprisingly. P.C. Graham Campbell was only a local bobby, but as Royston was such a small little town, he was basically the only law there was here.  
  
And it was such a quiet little place. Hardly anything really exciting happened here. Cat's stuck up tree's seemed to be the highlight of his year, sadly.  
  
What I wouldn't give for a good-old fashioned car chase, he thought to himself, as he trudged on his way back home from work.  
  
The only thing that gave him any hope that this day might get any better was one Tegan Jovanka.  
  
He'd made friendly with the local author a couple of months ago, but despite everything, he didn't get the feeling that she returned the same level of interest in him.  
  
If only she would realise that they where meant to be together, then his life would at least have something in it to make up for his job.  
  
And to think that when he'd joined up he'd thought that police work was going to be exciting.  
  
He was going to call round to Tegan's later on, see if she maybe wanted to go out for a Christmas drink some night through the week. After all, it would only be the third time he would have asked her out. She had to cave in eventually. Who else was there around here that was even half as interesting as him?   
  
He was just about to cross through the town square when he saw Vanessa Jovanka, heading off towards the outskirts of town with some strange man.  
  
Immediately his suspicions where up. There was nothing out there except a small wood and a stream, plus the outskirts of some farm land owned by Ted Billings. Nothing out there to interest anyone. Why even go out that way when it was starting to get dark?  
  
Suddenly feeling like a policeman for the first time in months, Graham followed at a discreet distance, sure in the knowledge that he was about to become the hero of the hour.  
  
tbc  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for all the great FB on this story so far. Sorry it's taken me longer than planned. The first version had me giving away Tegan's secret a little too early, so I had a re-write to do eg Yes, despite what you learn in this one, Tegan is still keeping something to herself.   
  
Hope you enjoy!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
It was all true!  
  
Inside the TARDIS wasn't at all like Vanessa had expected. For a start the console room, as her mum had called it, wasn't as big as their living room. It was as big as their entire house!   
  
It felt alive too. It was as if she'd walked into a dark room with someone in it she couldn't see or hear, but she knew there was someone there anyway, standing beside her in the dark. It wasn't a scary someone though. It was like the times she had felt her mum watching her in the dark. She felt safe.  
  
"So? What do you think?"  
  
Vanessa smiled up at the Doctor, hardly able to contain herself, yet finding she couldn't quite describe what she was feeling either.  
  
"Mum was right. It's bigger on the inside." She looked around the cavernous room. "Way bigger on the inside."  
  
"Yes, well, I've redecorated since your mum was here last." He stood to look at his own handy-work. He hadn't actually meant to do so much to the place, but once he got started, he found he just couldn't stop. The trouble he'd had hauling the large and rather ornate Seal of Rassilon out of storage and getting it up above the door. Especially when the anti-grav stabilisers had failed on him. "Still, it's not too shabby, don't you think?"  
  
As soon as Vanessa had been old enough to understand, her mother had been telling her stories. Tales of other times and other worlds and for a while, she had believed every single word. But recently, the stories just hadn't been as convincing. They were fun and entertaining, but no more than any other story. It had felt as if she had grown up past them, that she was too old to believe in them any more. Now she felt like she could believe in Santa Claus again. "I think it's great!"  
  
The Doctor grinned at her in delight. "Come on. Let me show you your mother's old room."  
  
Hand in hand, he led her deeper into the TARDIS.   
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"Damn-it!"  
  
How could he have lost them!?! He stumbled through the dark wood, knowing that they had to be here somewhere. After all, where else could they be?  
  
He'd just decided that he was worrying over nothing, that the kid was probably alright when he realised something.  
  
"How the hell do I get back?" P.C. Graham Campbell of her Majesties Police Force, was well and truly lost.   
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Vanessa ran her fingers over the dark velvet cloth of the clothes hanging from the hat-stand, wondering who had once worn such a strange outfit.  
  
She turned to the bed, noticing a mirror lying on the nightstand beside it. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Maybe it had been her mothers and the Doctor would let her keep it? After all, it was only a mirror.  
  
Curious now, she reached out, picking it up and looking at herself.  
  
Her eyes…  
  
She couldn't stop looking at her eyes, couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from her reflection.  
  
~Little girl~  
  
She watched as her eyes widened in fear at the sound of a voice that chilled her to the bone.  
  
No one else was in the room, no one else had come in, so who was in here with her?  
  
She felt herself begin to panic, wanting nothing more than yell for the Doctor to help her.  
  
~Pathetic human child~  
  
She watched a tear run down her cheek, still unable to pull her gaze away. It was like she was looking at someone else's eyes.   
  
And someone else was looking right back at her.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"Ah! There you are!"  
  
The Doctor grabbed an old and very dusty box off the top shelf in one of his storage rooms, sneezing as the dust danced around the room.  
  
Vanessa was going to love these, he thought to himself, looking at the small blue globes that filled the old cardboard box now in his hands.  
  
He'd noticed on his way over that a lot of the houses in the town had Christmas lights on the front of them and in their gardens. Well, these where going to make those look very pale in comparison.   
  
He found himself smiling as he made his way back down the corridor to Tegan's old room. Vanessa and he were getting along famously, plus, he was starting to feel as if he was finally shaking off the lingering effects of his 'death' in San Francisco. Must be the company I'm keeping, he thought to himself.  
  
"Vanessa, wait till you see…" Tegan's old room was empty. Turning, he looked up the hall and saw no sign of her. He hoped she hadn't decided to go exploring without him. The TARDIS was a very big place. It was infinitely easy to get lost in it's depths.  
  
Yet, something drew him back to the room. He stood looking at it for a few seconds, knowing something was wrong, but trying to put his finger on it.  
  
A mirror lay broken on the ground. From the look of things, it had been thrown hard against the wall.   
  
"Oh no."  
  
He knew something had happened. Something bad.   
  
Dropping his box, he ran to the console room, seeing no sign of Vanessa anywhere.  
  
The door was open. He hadn't shown Vanessa how to open it.  
  
He ran outside, sure now that Vanessa was no longer in the safety of his TARDIS, but somewhere out there, in the dark. He just wasn't sure she was alone.  
  
"Vanessa!" he called out desperately, hoping to hear an answering cry in response.  
  
He ran out into the night, pulling the door shut behind him. "Vanessa! Answer me! Vanessa!"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
He couldn't believe how stupid he felt right now. He was supposed to be a trained professional for Gods sake! Yet here he was, tramping about like a blind man all because he wanted to get into Tegan Jovanka's knickers.  
  
Graham angrily kicked out at a tree before making himself stop so that he could think for a minute.  
  
Just then, when he was actually being quiet enough, he heard something. He turned his head, listening now for all he was worth.  
  
It sounded like a child crying. Not too far from him either.  
  
Despite being overly full of himself, Graham Campbell was a police officer, and while he had wanted the prestige and excitement that being a police officer had held for him in his youth, another part of him did actually care. It was just so little happened with his work that he rarely had the chance to show that he could be good at this job.  
  
"Hello? Who's out there?" He moved forward a little, in the direction of the crying. He felt a shiver of fear shake through him. Oh God, he thought. He'd been right all along. That man had been out here to cause harm to that little girl. And he was out there, somewhere, doing God alone knew what to her.  
  
"It's ok. I'm a police man," he tried to scan the surrounding area, but darkness had really fallen by this stage, and he could barely see his own hand in front of him. "You know me, I'm Graham. A friend of your mum's, remember?"  
  
A heart-filled cry had him turning to the sound, and he thought he could see a vague shape not too far ahead of him in the dark.   
  
He moved towards it, afraid of what he might find, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. This was it. This was his time to prove his worth as a police officer and maybe get a transfer to somewhere with a bit more excitement.   
  
He could now make out a definitive shape in the darkness, a figure lying curled up at the bottom of a tree. He moved quickly to her side, wary that he might scare her more if he wasn't careful.  
  
"Vanessa, isn't it?" He knelt down beside her, wanting to get them both away from this place. Even in the dark he could make out that her clothes were filthy.  
  
Her crying had almost stopped, and her breathing sounded ragged. Dear God, what had that monster done to her?  
  
Gently, he reached out his hand, only to be startled when she turned to look at him, a weary smile on her face.  
  
"Yes, that's right. You can trust me kiddo."  
  
He felt a hand reach out to his, small delicate fingers prising his hand open. She was standing, holding his hand and he rose with her. "Come on, I'll get you back home, safe and sound." Then he was going to find out what the hell had happened. Who left a child alone in a forest in the dark? He looked around him, suddenly remembering that this girl had been hand in hand with a man, a stranger he'd never seen around the town before. He must still be out there somewhere.  
  
"Come on," he whispered. "Let's get you home."  
  
He turned to try another direction, not knowing what else he could do in the dark but to try and find his way back. He had the girl to look after now, and he was damned if he was going to let her down.  
  
Yet when he started walking, the girl refused to budge and turning, even in the dark, he could now see that despite her tear-stained face, she was smiling.  
  
Her small fingers threaded through his, and for a second he wondered what she was doing. "We don't-  
  
Then he felt something; his fingers were going numb, yet at the same time, he could feel something dark start to slither up his arm, a coldness that had nothing to do with a lack of heat. As it crawled further up his arm, over his shoulder and up past his neck and into his mind, he felt it's icy blackness envelope that part of him that made him who he was.   
  
Unable to let go, P.C. Graham Campbell screamed for all he was worth into the unforgiving darkness of Royston woods.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Tegan sat at the dinner table, three untouched meals sitting in front of her. She was trying not to look at the clock, trying not to notice that it was getting late and that they should have been back well before now.  
  
"To hell with this."   
  
Jumping up from the table, she ran out into the hallway, pulling a torch from the cupboard under the stairs and a coat off the hanger.   
  
She'd never been one to do nothing. Especially when it came to her daughter.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Even with his ability to see better than most in the dark, there was absolutely no trace of Vanessa.  
  
Not knowing what else to do, the Doctor stopped and focused his hearing on the night around him.  
  
Sounds far off from the town; animals hunting and dieing in the dark.  
  
But no sounds of Vanessa.  
  
"No." There had to be something. Anything. He concentrated even harder.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
This felt new. Liberating in a way.   
  
Graham looked down at the child lying at his feet. She looked so vulnerable, so defenceless lying there. So still and quiet.   
  
He bent down, picking her up gently and with care. He knew what he had to do.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"Nothing!"  
  
Frustration was a feeling the Doctor had experienced many times before. He'd felt fear in the past too. Oh, he was careful not to show it, after all, sometimes it paid to fool your enemies into thinking you weren't affected, that you were a cool and an unfeeling creature.  
  
But now…  
  
This was a new sensation. He'd held the fate of entire worlds in his hands and had felt nothing but logical and calm, sure that what he needed to do, no matter how terrible, really was for the best. A burden, yes, but one he had accepted a long time ago.  
  
The fear he felt now was eating at him. This wasn't one of his companions; this wasn't something that shouldn't have been outside of his control. This was a child, placed into his care by a valued and dear friend. This was something that he should have been able to prevent.  
  
He was loosing his ability to think clearly and he realised it. Yet he seemed powerless to stop the overwhelming and conflicting emotions that twisted around and around in his head.  
  
He needed to think clearly if he was going to be any help to Vanessa.  
  
He turned and ran back to the TARDIS.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Tegan knew where the TARDIS was parked, having recognised the place from the Doctor's description of it over tea earlier.  
  
As she made her way to it, she'd convinced herself that whatever thoughts running around in her head where simply the workings of an over active imagination, coupled with the natural worrying any mother would have if their daughter was running late.  
  
The sound of feet crashing through the woods startled her, and she raised her torch only to recognise the Doctor. Relief flooded through her.  
  
"God but you startled me." She shone her torch past him. "Where's Vanessa, Doctor?"  
  
"Tegan…"  
  
And just like that, she knew. Something was wrong.   
  
"Where is she Doctor?"   
  
He pulled a key out of his waistcoat pocket. "Come inside. She's lost out in the woods somewhere. I'm going to use the TARDIS scanners to locate her life signs."  
  
Her torch once again rounded onto the dark woods about her. "She's lost out there? In the dark!" Tegan felt sick and angry at the same time. "You said you'd look after her!"  
  
"Tegan!" The Doctor shouted, and Tegan blinked at him in worry and confusion. "Inside. Please?" It was said more gently this time, and she realised that the Doctor was just as upset as she was. She nodded, following him through the doors.  
  
She noticed the change and barely gave it another thought, following him to the console that stood in the centre of the room.  
  
He was already flicking switches, and hitting buttons. "Are you getting anything?" she asked.  
  
The Doctor looked down in concern at the small screen set in the console. "I'm not picking up any human life signs." He looked up at her. "She's hardly been gone an hour."  
  
Human life signs. "What if she wasn't exactly human?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What if she wasn't all human?"  
  
The Doctor looked at her for a moment. "I should have realised. Turlough?"  
  
Tegan nodded, feeling part of the weight on her shoulders fall from her. For a second, she thought she seen a look of anger in his eyes, but it had happened so quickly that she was sure she had been mistaken. He ran over to a very large and ornate chest of drawers, searching through them for something. "Ah! Here we are."  
  
He came back over to her side, holding what looked like a small silver hollow tube. "I need you to place a finger inside the tube. It's a DNA/RNA reader. I can place your genetic profile into the search parameters, we won't need any more than that."  
  
She placed a finger inside, expecting it to hurt. Instead it gently ran a light over her finger. "Thank you." He then hit another button on the console, a small, stubby rod raising out of it. He placed the tube over it and they both watched as it sank back into it's recess.  
  
"And all I need to do now is…"  
  
They both turned to look at the screen.  
  
The Doctor turned to Tegan. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing out there."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
It was quite a journey to the other side of the village, but with his night-vision a lot better now, it was easy going.  
  
He was heading for the graveyard.   
  
He paused at the gates, setting Vanessa carefully down on the ground. Thankfully they weren't locked. They were just old and rather heavy and he needed both hands to push them open. They didn't have any trouble in Royston, why lock something up when you didn't have to?  
  
He pushed them aside, picking the girl up again as he made his way to the large Victorian crypt that dominated the graveyard.  
  
The Royston family had once been prevalent within the community, but with tax and death duties as well as the obligations to the people who lived on the old estate, they'd been forced to sell it all back in the 1930's. The tomb was nothing more than an ornate curiosity to those who came within the cemetery walls.  
  
Until now.  
  
He looked at the old and rusted padlock, and shifting Vanessa slightly so he could reach it better, he snapped it in two and leaned his shoulder against the solid metal door and pushed it open.   
  
Inside it was dark and musty, although the smell of decay was long gone. Placing Vanessa on the rather large tomb in the middle of the room, he covered her with his coat and, making sure she was secure, left again. He'd come back later tomorrow with a fresh padlock.  
  
She needed to rest after what she had done tonight, and he would have to go back and distract anyone from looking in the right places for her.   
  
He left the graveyard, and made his way back to his own home. He was expecting a call about a missing child any moment now.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Tegan was starting to feel frantic. "Widen your search parameters! Scan the town for miles around." She looked desperately at the console.   
  
The Doctor stared down at the scanner, willing it to show him where to find Vanessa. "I'm not picking anything up. Either someone or something is hiding her DNA or…"  
  
"You think she's dead?" Tegan couldn't believe she had said that so calmly.  
  
The Doctor shook his head. "No. Even if that were the case, it would take millennia for decomposition to sufficiently corrupt the DNA to prevent the TARDIS from finding her."  
  
Tegan shuddered at his words. "Then what do you mean, Doctor?"  
  
"I don't see how, but there's only two options here. One, as I said, she's being hidden, or two…"  
  
"Two?"  
  
"Or two, she's no longer on the planet."  
  
Tegan gave a short hysterical laugh. Seconds later she felt herself being led over to an armchair. "Jesus Christ Doctor. You come back into my life and within hours, trouble is at my door."  
  
He was kneeling in front of her, trying to hide how worried and upset he was feeling. It would do Tegan no good if she thought he was being anything other than the cool, logical and 'alien' personae she was used to. Yet he still wanted to comfort her, tell her everything was going to be alright. Somehow he found he was unable to.  
  
"What happened Doctor? How did 'this' happen?"  
  
So he told her.   
  
"Somehow she opened the door by herself. I didn't show her how to do that Tegan. Something more is going on here than we know about."  
  
"Do you think she's still on the planet?"  
  
"Honestly? I believe she is. Something happened inside the TARDIS, not outside it. Something in here set things into motion. She's out there, somewhere. We just have to find her."  
  
Tegan sat silently for a moment, thinking. "We need to find her. I'm going to call the police, get a search party organised or something."  
  
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?"  
  
Tegan glared and the Doctor quickly got the point. "I'll just go patch the communications system into the local satellite network. Shouldn't take two ticks and you can call from here."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"How long has Vanessa been missing then Tegan?"  
  
"Yes, I sighted her myself just before then. She was with a man. I took it he was known to you to allow your daughter out with him. If I had only known…"  
  
"Oh, so this man ~is~ a friend of the family then? I see. Would you mind giving me his name?"  
  
"The Doctor? Doctor who? Just Doctor. Seems a little strange to me, but then again, what would I know about it. Still, I'll need to speak to him, as he was the last person to be seen with her."  
  
"Don't worry, Tegan. I'm ~sure~ she's fine. She's a smart young lady and a Jovanka to boot. I'll call through to the main police station in Stanton, get a few more officers in for an early morning search. In the mean time, I'll check all the local areas in the town, get a few people up to help me."  
  
"No, not at all. I'll call you at home if I have any news for you. Yes, I'll see you then. I'm sure we'll find her safe and sound. Goodbye."  
  
P.C. Graham hung up the phone. Everything was going according to plan.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
tbc 


End file.
